Ransomware says "PRISM" caught you with child porn, demands payout

Some sneaky hackers have found a way to exploit people's fears of the National Security Agency to get them to part with their money: Make them think they've been caught by "PRISM."

A relatively new ransomware attack, discovered by the blog Malware Don't Need Coffee, tells victims that their "computer has been locked" by the NSA, they've been caught downloading child porn, and they can make it all go away if they pay $300.

As Malware Don't Need Coffee found, this "PRISM" scam is an updated version of a similar ransomware called Kovter. Distributed in March, Kovter adopted the Department of Homeland Security's seal and gave users a similar spiel: You've been caught downloading child porn; pay us $300 to unlock your computer or face massive fines and a prison sentence.

Kovter's far from the only scam that acts like law enforcement and pretends to catch users watching child porn to extort innocent people. A particularly vicious Australian scam hacks users' webcams as they search for pornography, accuses them of looking at child porn, shows them their own picture, then demands a payout.